The Argentine, Juan Martin del Potro back on a big surface of tennis, where he played in front of a jam-packed central court in Rome in a late night face-off against the World Number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic.

It was a repeat showdown of the US Open 2018 final at Flushing Meadows at the Italian Open 2019 quarterfinals, and even this time Del Potro couldn’t make a difference despite being on the verge of his victory.

The Argentine lost 4-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-4 to Djokovic in the Italian Masters. The three set excitement on a Friday night ended post 1 am on a Saturday morning.

In the opening set, both the ATP men, took an hour to complete it. Juan Martin del Potro saved six break points in the first set and his ferocious forehands countervailed for his sensitive backhands. Novak Djokovic was shrewd with his drop shots and Del Potro’s long legs couldn’t reach those balls on time.

Novak Djokovic

The ‘Tower of Tandil’, Juan Martin del Potro with his deadly forehand weapon was successful in converting a breakpoint at 4-3 and unforced errors from Djokovic’s end also contributed to the break of serve.

The Argentine slammed an ace to consolidate his break at 5-3. The World Number nine saved three break points and then produced a splendid backhand down the line stroke to closed out the set at 6-4.

In the second set, the Serbian, Novak Djokovic again fumbled upon a break point as Juan Martin del Potro aced on the T-point of the tennis court. The set was followed by some amusing show over the net.

Finally, the Serb converted his ninth break opportunity and consolidated to take a 5-2 lead and was determined for a decider. In between Del Potro complained about the state of the tennis court to the chair umpire.

Juan Martin del Potro

However, the Argentine skyscraper seemed reluctant to play the third set on the Italian sludge. His down the line backhand saved a set point and later racked in three break points and with Novak Djokovic widening a groundstroke,Juan Martin del Potro snatched away his break of serve earlier in the set and kept the spectacle ongoing.

Ostensibly, the Argentine, Juan Martin Del Potro could foresee the movements of Novak Djokovic and made his shots accordingly. Later, the set got extended into the tiebreaker. A thespian tiebreaker was played as Djokovic saved two match points at 6-4 and then held four points in a row to carry on with the quarterfinal clash.

In the decider, Novak Djokovic held a break of service and sprinted for a 4-2 lead over the Argentine and later being impeccable with his service games, Novak Djokovic reserved his semifinal berth in Rome.